On January 22nd renowned gun maker Smith & Wesson joined Sturm, Ruger, & Co., by announcing it would cease California sales of its semi-automatic pistols due to microstamping requirements that went into effect last year.

Coal workers, their families and a handful of lawmakers gathered Tuesday near the U.S. Capitol to protest Washington’s so-called “war on coal.”

Surrounded by signs protesting government overreach and shouting over fiery speeches from lawmakers representing coal country, TheBlaze asked attendees what they’d say if they were given a chance to speak face-to-face to Washington’s leaders.

The responses, though varied, had a common theme: Get off our back.

9. Stop Messing With American Businesses

“I was in health care for almost 18 years,” rally attendee Shane told TheBlaze. “But I left after the government decided it wanted to f— with that. So I got into coal. There was money.”

“But now the government is f—ing with that,” he added, smiling broadly.

8. Leave Coal Alone

Two miners from West Virginia were a little more tempered in their responses.

“Seriously, leave coal alone,” Frank Ward said. “Things are tough enough already. We don’t need government stepping in and shutting us down and putting us all out of jobs. How about we keep some Americans working?”

7. Washington Is Anti-Coal!

Ward’s son, Frank Ward III, chimed in: “It’s a war on our way of life.”

“They’re good jobs. These are jobs we like. We just feel like Washington has it in for us,” Ward III said.

6. Coal Affects a Lot of People

One attendee from Pennsylvania raised a separate set of concerns.

“I don’t think (lawmakers) understand that by hurting the coal industry, they’re going to hurt a lot of other industries,” Susan Leap told TheBlaze. “Coal is energy and we provide for a lot of other industries. Think about the cost of business for people like truckers.”

5. The EPA Needs to Get Off Our Backs

Bob Harker of Pennsylvania was more fired up when TheBlaze asked what message he had for U.S. lawmakers.

“People complain that coal is dirty and that we’re hurting the planet. Funny thing is, things like the (Environmental Protection Agency) won’t let us clean up. We want to be cleaner and greener. They’re not interested. They’re interested in shutting us down,” Harker said.

“I’ve been in this business for 39 years and I’ve never been laid off. I think that’s great,” he added. “But with some of these new rules, they’re going to get me fired. Just leave coal alone.”

Shelves in Walmart stores in Springhill and Mansfield, LA were reportedly cleared Saturday night, when the stores allowed purchases on EBT cards even though they were not showing limits.

This image, posted on Facebook, shows empty shelves at the Springhill Walmart store after a run on meat and other food products Saturday night.

The chaos that followed ultimately required intervention from local police, and left behind numerous carts filled to overflowing, apparently abandoned when the glitch-spurred shopping frenzy ended.

Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd confirms they were called in to help the employees at Walmart because there were so many people clearing off the shelves. He says Walmart was so packed, “It was worse than any black Friday” that he’s ever seen.

Lynd explained the cards weren’t showing limits and they called corporate Walmart, whose spokesman said to let the people use the cards anyway. From 7 to 9 p.m., people were loading up their carts, but when the cards began showing limits again around 9, one woman was detained because she rang up a bill of $700.00 and only had .49 on her card. She was held by police until corporate Walmart said they wouldn’t press charges if she left the food.

Lynd says at 9 p.m., when the cards came back online and it was announced over the loud speaker, people just left their carts full of food in the aisles and left.

Another photo from the Springhill Walmart store shows carts overflowing with food, reportedly left abandoned after balances started showing up again on customers’ EBT cards.

“Just about everything is gone, I’ve never seen it in that condition,” said Mansfield Walmart customer Anthony Fuller.

Walmart employees could still be seen putting food from the carts away as late as Sunday afternoon. “I was just thinking, I’m so glad my mom doesn’t work here [Walmart] anymore, that’s the only thing I could think about, those employees working, that would have to restock all that stuff,” said O.J Evans who took cell phone video of the overflowing shopping carts at the Mansfield Walmart.

Trader Jeffrey Vazquez works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. Stocks were inching higher in morning trading. The pause followed Thursday’s big gains including the biggest point rise of the year for the Dow Jones industrial average as investors bet against a U.S. debt default (AP)

[Editor’s note: the following is a crosspost by Jeff Cox that originally appeared on CNBC.com]:

WASHINGTON — Agricultural business giant Monsanto Co. reported worse-than-expected losses for its fiscal fourth quarter on Wednesday, due to lower sales of its genetically engineered seeds.

The company forecast for fiscal 2014 also came in below Wall Street expectations, and it revealed plans to buy farming software and data firm The Climate Corporation. The combination sent shares lower in morning trading.

David Buckner, the founder and CEO of Bottom Line Training and Consulting, an adjunct professor at Columbia University, and the author of “Permission to Think,” explained on the Glenn Beck Program Wednesday why America hasn’t yet seen hyperinflation — but why it could be just around the corner.

A subsidiary of Visa, a key Obama campaign donor, that specializes in credit card transactions has abruptly stopped servicing the nation’s largest gun store after four years because the store sells guns, a fact the owners never hid.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Tuesday announced their support for President Barack Obama’s call to action in Syria, undoing modest gains made in U.S. stocks.

AT&T has announced that it will begin selling customers’ smart phone data to the highest bidder, putting the telecommunications giant in line with Verizon, Facebook and other competitors that quietly use a consumer’s history for marketing purposes.

It will be illegal to purchase, manufacture or sell magazines that hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition in the state of Colorado come Monday. Recently-passed gun control measures have Second Amendment supporters angry while several gun manufacturers are fleeing the state.

The ‘Google’ logo is seen on a tablet screen on December 4, 2012 in Paris. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) — Google on Tuesday sharply challenged the federal government’s gag order on its Internet surveillance program, citing what it described as a First Amendment right to divulge how many requests it receives from the government for data about its customers in the name of national security.

With the popularity of cheap imports, some patriotic Americans have given up even looking at labels anymore, assuming there’s just no way to make buying American a regular practice.

But now someone is doing something about all that.

Meet the American Made Stores. Today it’s a website – soon the first brick-and-mortar store will open in Blue Springs, Mo., right outside Kansas City, the home of the American Made Stores, a partnership between WND and REKO, WND’s heralded online shopping fulfillment company – the one noted for its top-notch customer service at the WND Superstore.

“The concept is very simple,” says Joseph Farah, founder and chief executive officer of WND. “If we sell it, and if you buy it, U.S. manufacturing will return. It’s a ‘Field of Dreams’ vision. ‘If you build it, they will come.’ And we have faith in the American people that they will come – first to the American Made Stores website, later to the brick-and-mortar store in Missouri and, ultimately, to a nationwide chain of retail stores selling only American-made products of all kinds.”

This is not just a business for those involved. It’s a mission.

And here’s the mission statement behind it: “To rebirth American manufacturing while educating Americans about the importance of a strong and vibrant U.S.-based manufacturing economy by offering a unique, convenient, cost-saving and fun shopping experience for those wishing to find American-made products in one place. By rewarding companies who employ Americans working in factories on American soil, you can direct your purchasing power in a way that will not only benefit you and your family, but stimulate a manufacturing renaissance that will benefit your descendants and your country.”

“We believe the success of this business can dispel some of the ugly myths that have developed over the decades about American manufacturing,” says Terry Reed, one of the principals of the American Made Stores. “It’s just not true that Americans can’t make quality products at reasonable prices. It’s also not true that American manufacturing is no longer important to the country. In fact, it’s a matter of vital national security.”

The American Made Stores will provide an opportunity to honor companies which have remained and/or are returning to U.S.-based manufacturing. They will be a destination to showcase American ingenuity by displaying new patents and products. They will serve as a launch platform for American start-up companies and products. They will serve as a place to expose companies and individuals who make false claims about American content through fraudulent labeling and claims.

In addition to making it easy to find U.S.-made products of superior quality and with excellent pricing, which is no easy task in most stores today, goods in the American Made Stores are graded and sorted by the percentage of American content and a manufacturers’ certification standard ensures against false claims. Through customer feedback, testimonials and ratings systems, American Made Stores can provide you with up-to-date consumer reports on American-made goods.

“Do you want to put your money where your patriotism is?” asks Janis Reed, another principal of the American Made Stores. “Now you have a chance. We think it’s good to discriminate by buying American.”

News about the GMO contamination of U.S. wheat crops seems to be spreading faster than the GMOs themselves. On Friday, South Korea joined Japan in announcing a halt on imports of U.S. wheat due to the USDA’s recent announcement that commercial wheat grown in the USA is contaminated with Monsanto’s genetically engineered wheat.

A symbol in the window of a local pub indicates the acceptance of Bitcoins for payment on April 11, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. Bitcoins are a digital currency traded on the MTGox exchange. (Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The Bitcoin trading platform Mt. Gox in Tuesday was issued a warrant that stopped its ability to send or accept transfers of the electronic currency through its Dwolla payment service.